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GranteedEV · 02-02-2019, 03:10 PM

Smith has been bad, but I think one thing people don't realize is that Rittich hasn't just been average. Going by dSV% Rittich has been the second best goalie in the league (1000+ minutes) 5v5 behind only Thomas Greiss.

On the flip side, Luongo, Dubnyk, and Martin Jones actually have worse dSV% than Smith, though 4th worst among 37 goalies is not something to be proud of.

I bring this up because Smith has had some awful games where he has cost us or we have won despite him, but last night was not one of them. The sheer contrast between Smith and Rittich has led to a serious lack of perspective on what "average" goaltending should look like, especially with the rule changes which have affected pretty much every goalie. Smith wasn't outgoaltended by Holtby last night - we lost for other reasons. So saying Smith has 10 of our 14 regulation losses is a flawed statement because it suggest Rittich has only been average, when Rittich has been far better than average (and we also won the worst game Rittich played this season @ Columbus)

02-02-2019, 03:10 PM	#320
GranteedEV Franchise Player Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Calgary Exp:	Smith has been bad, but I think one thing people don't realize is that Rittich hasn't just been average. Going by dSV% Rittich has been the second best goalie in the league (1000+ minutes) 5v5 behind only Thomas Greiss. On the flip side, Luongo, Dubnyk, and Martin Jones actually have worse dSV% than Smith, though 4th worst among 37 goalies is not something to be proud of. I bring this up because Smith has had some awful games where he has cost us or we have won despite him, but last night was not one of them. The sheer contrast between Smith and Rittich has led to a serious lack of perspective on what "average" goaltending should look like, especially with the rule changes which have affected pretty much every goalie. Smith wasn't outgoaltended by Holtby last night - we lost for other reasons. So saying Smith has 10 of our 14 regulation losses is a flawed statement because it suggest Rittich has only been average, when Rittich has been far better than average (and we also won the worst game Rittich played this season @ Columbus) __________________ "May those who accept their fate find happiness. May those who defy it find glory."